Category Archives: Obiter/News

[President Rodrigo Duterte recently signed the law which provides for free college education, Republic Act No. 10931, also known as the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. To aid in the better discussion of the merits of this law, we are reproducing the full text below.] Continue reading →

The Supreme Court of the Philippines FINDS sufficient factual basis for the issuance of Proclamation No. 216 and DECLARES it as CONSTITUTIONAL. Full text copy in PDF below (wait for the content to load).

[“Balikbayan Boxes,” according to the Bureau of Customs, “are packages of personal effects and/or “pasalubongs” sent by Filipinos residing or working abroad to their families or relatives in the Philippines to enhance Philippine tradition and culture for the promotion and preservation of strong family ties through love and caring expressed in gift-giving.” Under the new rules issued by the Bureau of Customs, balikbayan boxes sent by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) to the Philippines shall not be subjected to random or arbitrary physical examination, but shall be subjected to mandatory x-ray scanning. The full text of the rules is reproduced below.]

On 3 May 2016, the Supreme Court released the results of the 2015 bar examinations. Here is the list of the Top 10, followed by the full list of successful examinees. Congratulations! Continue reading →

[Note: On 8 May 2015, Secretary Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) issued Department Order No. 2015-011, amending Department Order No. 97-1092 to promote mobility. Among the amendment is the provision of the Transportation Network Vehicle Service (TNVS), which basically refers to existing “ride-sharing” or “app-based ride-hailing” services like Uber and GrabCar. The Philippines is the FIRST country in the world to regulate this service. There is, of course, an opposition from operators of taxis and Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs), which are required to comply with certain requirements (e.g., franchise, insurance coverage). PUVs are common carriers and are issued the corresponding PUV license plates. The TNVS are private vehicles that can operate like PUVs and, for purposes of liability, will most likely be treated as a common carrier. PUVs must also secure prior approval from the LTFRB before they can raise fares, but TNVS, based on the D.O 2015-011, are not covered by the same requirement. On the other hand, ride-sharing private vehicles are not required to be registered with the LTFRB based on existing practice. This will change because the regulations now require the driver to be accredited with the LTFRB. There is a high likelihood that the driver will also be required to register with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) which, in turn, will also require the registration with the local government (Mayor’s Permit). What do you think of the new regulations? Express your thoughts through the comment section below. The pertinent portion of Department Order No. 2015-011 relating to TNVS is reproduced below.]

[Reproduced below is the full text of LTO Memorandum Circular AVT-2015-1927 (No Registration, No Travel Policy). Incidentally, in an Advisory published in newspapers, the LTO announced that: “In line with the implementation of NO REGISTRATION-NO TRAVEL policy, starting April 1, 2015, please be advised that only LTO Law Enforcers and LTO Deputized Agents in complete uniform with valid ID and carrying LTO issued Temporary Operators Permit (TOP) are authorized to stop vehicles and apprehend those in violation of the same.”] Continue reading →

Congratulations! The Supreme Court released the results of the 2014 bar examaminations on Thursday, 26 March 2015. Out of the 5,984 law school graduates that took the 2014 bar exam, only 1,126 passed (18.82% passing rate). The Top 10 bar passers and the full list of successful bar examinees are reproduced below: Continue reading →